It will be a weekend of reggae music on the beach as the Lakeside Restaurant and Beach Bar in Rubavu District throws a two-day reggae fiesta.

The concerts are slated for Saturday, March 31, and Sunday, April 1. Local reggae sensation Raphael Mitali Narcisse, best known as Natty Dread, will headline the shows that kick off at 8p.m till late on both days.

Natty Dread will be accompanied on stage by a host of local musical acts, including 2T Reggae Man, City Yankees, while Selector Dizzo and Kail Kagame will man the DJ decks.

Also due to grace the stage is Mon Statut from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

If all goes well, the festival will become an annual or biannual event, according to Natty Dread.

“The owner of Lakeside Restaurant and Beach Bar came and saw me performing at one of the venues in Kigali where I regularly perform, and asked me to go visit his place and take a look and probably come up with something. One day I travelled there and we struck a deal which started small but grew bigger and bigger, and now we even have a Congolese artiste coming in,” Natty Dread told The New Times this week.

He added: “The next time it will be Ugandan artistes on the stage, and we will keep expanding. This is like a trial, but with intentions to make it a permanent calendar event.”